India’s LGBT+ People Shine on Prime-Time TV, Following Court Victory

Gay actor-model Sushant Divgikar performs as a drag queen on a singing reality show on Indian television channel Zee in Mumbai, India, November 2018. Photo courtesy Zee TV

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By Roli SrivastavaMUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

A young man comes out of the closet on a dating show, while a drag queen belts out Bollywood hits in a singing competition – both aired on Indian television programmes in the past month, but would have been unthinkable until recently

Indian television’s newfound openness rests with a Supreme Court decision in September, which struck down a British-colonial era law that criminalised gay sex.

With 800 million viewers across the country, according to the Broadcast Audience Research Council India, campaigners are hoping that television can help smash stereotypes about the LGBT+ community.

“We finally have legal recognition, but the fight for equality starts now. We now need societal acceptance,” said Sushant Divgikar, who performed on the singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on Zee TV.

Indian news and current affairs shows have long covered LGBT+ issues, but entertainment programmes often featured stereotyped characters that served to mock members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, say experts.

“Not just on Indian television, but in cinema as well, homosexuality or cross-dressing was often an element of comic relief,” said Aparna Bhosle, business head of Zee TV, in an email.

“Today, with the legal acceptance to alternate sexual orientation, we can look forward to more respectable, dignified depictions of characters who’re homosexual or practise drag”

On a special episode of MTV’s reality dating show ‘Elovator Pitch‘, a gay man was wood by 10 contestants – including one who had not previously been open about his sexuality.

Rahul Bharti, 24, said he chose the opportunity to come out on television as a way to tell his mother and father.

“I couldn’t tell them personally as I was scared how they would react. I have grown up watching MTV and I took part in the show only because I wanted to tell my parents,” he said by phone.

Bharti’s parents didn’t speak to him for a few days, “but are now dealing with it”. He said he hopes for wider acceptance of LGBT+people now, as many in the entertainment industry are breaking down harmful perceptions that they helped to create.

While MTV has had LGBT+ characters on many shows in the past, this was its “first attempt in unscripted content to include the LGBTQ community”, said Ferzad Palia, an executive at Viacom18, which operates MTV in India

The Supreme Court decision “has widened the scope for such conversations, so it was a natural progression for us in storytelling and putting out our thoughts,” Palia said by email.

Such changes are welcome, said Harrish Iyer, an equal rights activist who hosts India’s first radio show on LGBT+ issues, called ‘Gaydio’.

“Being a marginalized community, it’s a struggle to transition from the novelty to the norm, but I think we are getting there,” he said.